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[ga] CDT Letter on the ICANN MOU
Greetings all,
This afternoon, CDT transmitted the following letter to Asst. Sec.
Nancy Victory and Robin Layton at the Department of Commerce. The
letter urges Commerce to commit to adding new provisions to the ICANN
MOU, including provisions to create meaningful limits on ICANN's
authorities, establish accountability mechanisms, and provide
representation. The letter also urges that the MOU's duration be
short, not to exceed one year, and that ICANN submit bi-annual public
reports on its progress to Commerce and the GAC.
The complete letter is reprinted below, and available at
http://www.cdt.org/dns/icann/020819comments.shtml
Best,
Rob
* * *
August 19, 2002
Nancy J. Victory
Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information
United States Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230
Robin Layton
Associate Administrator, Office of International Affairs
National Telecommunications and Information Administration
1401 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20230
Dear Ms. Victory and Ms. Layton:
We write to express our continuing concern with the present
restructuring of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and
Numbers (ICANN). We urge you to insert a limited set of new
requirements into any renewal of ICANN's Memorandum of Understanding
with the Department of Commerce calling for increased accountability
and meaningful checks on ICANN's powers.
Through its Evolution and Reform Committee, ICANN has begun work to
address questions about the scope of its mission and the need for
broader participation and greater accountability. Although the reform
package approved in Bucharest improves on previous drafts, it lacks
adequate provisions to protect the public's interest in ICANN's
activities and establish meaningful constraints on the ICANN Board's
future authority. With the Department's MOU with ICANN set to expire
on September 30, the present opportunity for leadership should not be
missed.
The new MOU should continue the objectives present in the White
Paper. The promotion of competition and stability are key tasks for
ICANN, but they are equal in importance to providing representation
and securing a functional, private, bottom-up decision process -
obligations that ICANN has yet to fulfill. Reasonable amendments to
the MOU will provide ICANN with incentive to undertake real and
necessary change. Such reform will promote greater faith and
involvement in ICANN by the Internet community, and will ultimately
fulfill the institutional vision of the White Paper. In particular,
changes to the MOU should require ICANN to:
* Implement accountability mechanisms that acknowledge the
public impact of ICANN's activities. In particular, ICANN should not
abandon the notion of an Independent Review Panel, capable of
scrutinizing Board and staff actions for compliance with critical
documents such as the ICANN Bylaws. Adoption of fair administrative
procedures and reporting would expand on ICANN's progress in
promoting transparency. And the commitment of Board and staff to
codes of conduct would provide extra insurance against inappropriate
actions by ICANN at some time in the future. Such actions would
greatly enhance the public's faith in ICANN and encourage their
productive participation.
* Establish concrete limits on ICANN's authority. This should
include an explicit enumeration of ICANN's powers and a strong
prohibition of any activities that would deny individuals and
organizations basic due process. It should be bolstered by an
effective system of checks and balances that will ensure the
effectiveness of the limits over time, including an understanding
that powers not granted are prohibited unless demonstrably supported
by the Internet community. Such limits would re-emphasize ICANN's
endorsement of bottom-up policy-setting and further enable public
participation.
* Effectively represent the public voice - particularly the
interests of users and consumers - at ICANN's board level and
throughout the ICANN structure. ICANN's current reform plan makes
some progress on this issue, but difficult questions about the
specifics of public representation - particularly regarding the
inclusion of end-users in the ICANN policy process - need answering
before the White Paper requirement of representation can be
satisfied. The first MOU with ICANN included language to this effect;
that language's reinsertion and potential expansion would establish
the importance of this task.
* Regular reporting of progress. ICANN should be required to
publicly offer biannual reports on its activities and its progress on
these critical new requirements. Such reports could be addressed to
both the Department and the Government Advisory Council.
The incorporation of these responsibilities into the MOU will
provide a much-needed measure of oversight to ICANN and will permit
ICANN to focus its energies on those questions most crucial both to
its own long-term legitimacy and the future of the global Internet
community. Finally, in order to ensure that the Department has a full
flexibility in its oversight, we urge that the MOU be renewed for a
term of no longer than one year.
CDT continues to believe in the promise of the White Paper to
establish private-sector management of these critical global
resources. We look forward to continued work with you to make that
promise a reality.
Sincerely,
Alan Davidson
Associate Director
Rob Courtney
Policy Analyst
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